Cleantech Group Convenes the World’s Leading Water Utilities, Technology Providers, Corporate Executives, and Government Officials and Releases New White Paper Covering the Opportunities and Challenges in Water and Wastewater Innovation

SAN FRANCISCO – Cleantech Group released a whitepaper covering the findings from its September invitation-only Water Innovation Summit. The report touches on the utility perspective on innovation, smart water networks, financing innovation, sustainable water management in the oil and gas sector, opportunities in water and agriculture, and securing clean water for industries. The whitepaper can be downloaded for free on from Cleantech Group.

The Water Innovation Summit was held as part of Cleantech Group’s ongoing effort to support the water technology community.

“We feel strongly that water is poised to become a leading cleantech theme and investment sector over the next few years. The demand for innovative solutions to industry challenges is growing and water and waste water technologies are being watched closely by major corporations and key investors. We brought the leading stakeholders across the sector together to discuss these important issues and we are pleased to be able to share the findings and action items with the wider water technology community.”

The key takeaways and learnings covered in the report include:

Innovation at a water utility is driven by 3 C’s: Cost, Crisis, and Cool.

“Water as a Service” is a new and innovative business model that can help entrepreneurs sell to conservative, financially-strapped water utilities.

We are shifting from an ‘era of water development’ to an ‘era of water allocation’ (water rights).

The water-energy nexus is more than ever appropriately the water-energy-food nexus.

Over the course of the Summit, agriculture was recognized as one of the most important sectors in water management given the significantly high percentage of water that gets allocated to farming.

Potential solutions discussed included precision irrigation, pump efficient solutions and use of treated waste water for irrigation. Also the topic of real-time monitoring of field yield, soil characteristics, moisture sensors and general equipment performance including pumps was discussed as being an area with great opportunities for new business creation all of which likely will cause a new generation of farmers to pay more attention to water and spearhead entrepreneurs to commercialize new technologies and companies.

Specifically designed as an interactive workshop, the invitation-only executive retreat convened the top thought leaders, investors, and influencers in the water technology business to tackle head-on the real challenges facing the sector. The key findings and actionable plans resulting from this event can be downloaded for free at www.cleantech.com/water.

The 2013 Water Innovation Summit is scheduled for Sept. 10 to 11.&nbsp;&nbsp; Additional information on water innovation investment trends and the companies involved in this market can be found in Cleantech Group’s i3 market intelligence platform.

About Cleantech Group

Cleantech Group’s research, events and advisory services accelerate market adoption, stimulate demand, and remove barriers to cleantech innovation.&nbsp; A global company with offices in North America and Europe, we help business leaders make strategic decisions involving cleantech innovation through the i3 Platform, the most comprehensive, vetted, up-to-date source for insights into companies, investors, financing and relationships across the clean technology ecosystem.Cleantech Group also produces the premier Cleantech Forum® and Focus™ conferences worldwide, including upcoming events in San Francisco and Europe. Cleantech Group merged with GreenOrder in October of 2012.